The Capacity to Care
No. 1 Vol. XLIV 2007Addressing a conference of the United Nations International School in March 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked that, unfortunately, his"generation has been somewhat careless in looking after our one and only planet". He could well have been speaking of more than the disregard a substantial portion of the twentieth century visited upon the earth and its environment, and been referring to the lack of care invested in the very lives and survival of the children, women and men who are heir to its bounties.
A Special Partnership with the UN: A European Perspective
When Ban Ki-moon was appointed eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations on 13 October 2006, he declared: The world's people will not be fully served unless peace, development and human rights -- the three pillars of the UN -- are advanced together with equal vigour.
ESSAY:Silent Reform Through The Global Compact
For the first time in its history, the United Nations is embracing business and civil society as vital partners in advancing its goals of international peace and development.
Sixty-first General Assembly: Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)
At the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, the Fifth Committee ensured that the United Nations would continue to function in the 2007-2009 biennium and finance its activities, by determining the contribution of each Member State to the Organization's regular and peacekeeping budgets.
A Special Partnership With the UN: An African Perspective
Even before formally assuming office, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had already made it very clear, in a series of public statements, that Africa would be among his highest priorities.
The Secretary-General's Agenda: Indispensable For Sustainable Development
Global sustainable development and security are deeply interconnected, a fact that is increasingly recognized by world leaders. Sustainable development signifies the challenge of combining economic development with environmental sustainability.
The Role of The Secretary-General: A Personal History
Ban Ki-moon has taken the most impossible job in the world, as Trygve Lie famously said about the role of the Secretary-General. The Charter of the United Nations included the Secretariat among its principal organs, most certainly to grant some political prerogatives to the Secretary-General.
Sixty-first General Assembly: Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
The Fourth Committee handles special political matters not dealt with by the First Committee, as well as decolonization issues.
Sixty-first General Assembly: Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural)
The Third Committee during the sixty-first session of the General Assembly had at the top of its agenda the rights of women, children and migrants, as well as an evaluation of the work of the recently established Human Rights Council, and approved a draft resolution naming the right to development as a major goal of this new UN body.
The Secretary-General's Agenda: Progress On Disarmament Required For Global Security
It is an honour to suggest agenda items and top priorities in international security for Ban Ki-moon's first term in office as Secretary-General of the United Nations. However, it is also a daunting prospect, given his special expertise in foreign affairs and international security policy.
The Secretary-General's Agenda: Sustainable Development In Africa Requires Good Governance
The significance of the selection of Africa for the first official overseas visit of Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General of the United Nations cannot be overstated. Promoting stability and development in the region must continue to be at the heart of the Organization's work.
A Special Partnership With the UN: A Latin American Perspective
Latin America is the region in the developing world where democracy is now almost universal. Its roots, however, are weak. Latin America has a population of approximately 550 million people, of which about 44 per cent live under the poverty line and 18 per cent are affected by extreme poverty.
A Special Partnership With the UN: An Asian Perspective
The mission of the United Nations to carve out a safe, prosperous and just world from the ashes of the Second World War remains today an urgent global undertaking. For the past 61 years of its existence, the Organization's major organs contributed significantly, and greatly, to this end.
Sixty-first General Assembly: First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)
The First Committee, one of the main bodies of the General Assembly, enforces disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons. In 2006, it made huge strides in international security when it adopted resolutions condemning surplus weapons stockpiles and agreeing on deeper international cooperation in the tracing of black market arms.
The UN General Assembly Advances the Global Agenda
Presiding over the sixty-first session of the General Assembly, I quickly learned that an effective president needs to be able to juggle many issues and remain in close contact with key negotiating groups and regional constituencies.
Sixty-first General Assembly: Sixth Committee (Legal)
The Sixth Committee, which deals with international legal matters confronting the 192 Member States of the United Nations, has helped give birth to judicial bodies like the International Criminal Court. Following the recommendations of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, the objective of strengthening the rule of law was at the top of the Committee's agenda in 2006.
Sixty-first General Assembly
General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, in her closing statement to the sixty-first session, told Member States that when we are united in partnership and overcome mistrust, we can achieve much more for each other, noting that the adoption of the long-awaited resolution on strengthening the UN Economic and Social Council was a good example.
The Chronicle Interview: 'We are more advanced in peacekeeping than in peacebuilding efforts'
Today's peacekeeping is reaching unprecedented levels. There are, as we speak, roughly 100,000 personnel -- military, police, civilian -- in 18 missions around the world.
The Secretary-General's Agenda: Prioritizing Commitment To Combat Global Poverty
As the first Secretary-General of the United Nations elected in the twenty-first century, Ban Ki-moon has inherited responsibilities that span the globe and run the gamut of issues, which included peace, prosperity and everything in between.
The Ethical Challenge of International Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations
Ethics in Action is an intelligent, provocative and important contribution to the fields of human rights and ethics. The book emerged from a series of meetings-apparently rather dynamic meetings-over the course of several years, which brought together academics and those working for various international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).
Sixty-first General Assembly: Second Committee (Economic and Financial)
The Second Committee continued to tackle the enormous dilemmas of economic inequality, poverty and environmental degradation. Many developing countries expressed their frustrations at the lack of progress on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of multilateral negotiations, aimed at increasing economic growth by lowering trade barriers worldwide.